coffin smoothers

CS1 coffin smoother; gabon ebony infill.

When asked what started my fascination with infill planes, my response is ‘the unhandled coffin smoother.’ To me, this is probably the most beautiful and iconic handtool form ever made. One of the most basic laws of design is that simplicity is much harder to do well than complexity – and the unhandled smoothers are classic examples of clean, simple, and beautiful design. This simplicity can be deceptive, however, as these are some of the most difficult plane designs to execute well. Jigs and macinery do not ‘do’ curves well, and nearly every surface of coffins is curved.

My belief is that smoothing planes should be small and nimble, allowing them to work on localized areas when necessary. The curved sides make for a much more comfortable plane, and the more direct contact of palm to plane provides outstanding feedback in use. The extremely tight mouths and high rigidity of the planes allows them to work well both with and against the grain, and will gracefully handle even the most highly figured or grain-interlocked woods.